For Easter of 2008, I was supposed to get my second tattoo. Unfortunately, there was a scheduling error and I had to cancel the appointment. Unwilling to wait another three months for an appointment, I decided to go for another piercing - my very first facial piercing. All my work before this point had been cartilage and my tongue.
At A Glance Author Melanie Contact melanie_chinn@hotmail.com When A year ago Artist Joe Duccette Studio A&J's Body Piercing Location Stephenville, NL One of my friends decided she would come with me and get hers done as well. We took the afternoon off school and drove to the town our piercing place is in. My mom came to give consent because at the time, I was still underage. I was in a panic while driving because I had forgotten to blow my nose before leaving home. I didn't want Joe to have to poke around the cave if there were bats present! So I grabbed some subway napkins that were in the truck and did some spring cleaning.
When we got into the shop, my friend changed her mind. She was too nervous to go through with the piercing. So my mom signed my consent form, and we payed the $30 for the nostril piercing while Joe set up the tools and jewelry. Of course, all the tools were autoclaved, and the needle and jewelry were autoclaved and single use. Only the best for my nose. I went into the piercing room with a DIFFERENT friend, since the girl who was going to her nostril pierced was too scared to watch me get mine done. She was a little squeamish about it.
I was totally amazed by how fast, simple and pain free everything was. Joe used about half a pack of q-tips to clean my nose, then marked it. I checked the little purple dot I knew I'd be cursing for not coming off later, and okayed everything. He has a really great way of keeping you entertained and jazzed about the piercing, while still keeping you at ease so you don't get freaked out and go running from the shop. He clamped my nose, and the needle went through. I was shocked. Most of my other piercings had been cartilage - helix, inner helix, rook, inner conch, tragus, anti-tragus. I had never thought they were terribly painful, maybe a little uncomfortable at the worst. By comparison, my nostril piercing was cake. It was so simple, that before he changed out the jewelry, I asked him to get a picture of me with the needle still in my nostril. It's now proudly displayed on his online portfolio. It's one of my favourite pictures of myself to date. He put the nostril screw in , and I was set.
The healing and aftercare were a breeze. Again, I was used to the fickle nature of cartilage piercings. A few times I knocked my nose while it was healing, and I would wait for the throb that I was used to from my ears when they were caught or knocked, but it would never come! All I had to do was clean it daily(I used sterile saline solution) and once a day I put a drop of tea tree oil on the outside - I've had great success using tea tree oil to heal all my piercings without complication. It works really well for me. My nostril healed like a dream.
The healing went by quickly and before I knew it, my nostril was good to go! The first few times I changed the nostril screw was a little tricky. It takes getting used to, to know how to maneuver those little buggers. I tried nostril bones and fishtail jewelry as well, but found the bones painful to put in and remove, and fishtails always fell out. I always came back to the nostril screws. In December(after having my nostril pierced in May), I went back to my piercer and have him change my jewelry to a CBR. I really enjoyed having the hoop in my nose, I thought it was cute and very comfy. I wound up having to take the CBR out when I needed an x-ray of my face due to a killer sinus infection in March of 2009, and opted to just put a nostril screw back in because they're also comfy, but are WAY easier to get in and out.
I have allergies, some of which cause me to be stuffed up and sneezey and generally snot filled. Blowing my nose with the nostril jewelry in is not fun, but it still works. I have to say though, I prefer to just take the screw out, do my business, then put it back in. That thing can get a little dirty in the process and it needs to be cleaned anyway, so might as well just take it out for a minute or two, right?
So that's it for my nostril. It's been over a year now and I'm really glad that I got it done. I'm thinking about going to get my left done again soon, to get a little symmetry going. I'm confident that if I get my right done as well, it will as pleasant an experience as the first. Nostril piercings are great. It was my lucky 13!